CHAPTER XVII - DIVERSITIES OF INITIATIONS

CHAPTER XVII

DIVERSITIES OF INITIATIONS

Major and Minor Initiations.

In dealing with this question
of the diversities of initiations it may be of value to the student to remember
that the great moment in which a man passed out of the animal kingdom into the
human, which is called in many occult textbooks the "moment of individualisation,"
was in itself one of the greatest of all initiations. Individualisation is the
conscious apprehension by the self of its relation to all that constitutes the
not-self, and in this great initiatory process, as in all the later ones, the
awakening of consciousness is preceded by a period of gradual development; the
awakening is instantaneous at the moment of self-realisation for the first
time, and is always succeeded by another period of gradual evolution. This
period of gradual evolution, in its turn leads up to a later crisis which is
called Initiation. In the one case, we have initiation into self-conscious
existence, in the other, initiation into spiritual existence.

These realisations, or
apprehended expansions of consciousness, are under natural law, and come in due
course of time to every soul without exception. In a lesser degree they
are undergone daily by every human being, as his mental grip of life and
experience gradually grows, but they only become initiations into the wisdom
(as differentiated from expansions of knowledge) when the knowledge gained is:—

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a. Consciously sought for.

b. Self-sacrificingly applied
to life.

c. Willingly used in service
for others.

d. Intelligently utilised on
the side of evolution.

Only souls of a certain
amount of experience and development do all these four things consistently and
steadily, and thus transmute knowledge into wisdom, and experience into
quality. The ordinary average man transmutes ignorance into knowledge, and experience
into faculty. It would be helpful if all of us pondered upon the difference
between inherent quality and innate faculty; one is the very nature of buddhi,
or wisdom, and the other of manas, or mind. The union of these two, through a
man's conscious effort, results in a major initiation.

These results are brought
about in two ways:—First, by a man's own unaided effort, which leads him in due
course of time to find his own centre of consciousness, to be guided and led by
the inner ruler or Ego entirely, and to unravel, through strenuous effort and
painful endeavour, the mystery of the universe, which is concealed in material
substance energised by Fohat. Secondly, by a man's efforts, supplemented by
the intelligent loving co-operation of the Knowers of the race, the Masters of
the Wisdom. In this case the process is quicker, for a man comes under
instruction—should he so desire—and subsequently, when he has on his part
provided the right conditions, there is placed at his disposal the knowledge and
the help of Those Who have achieved. In order to avail himself of this help he
has to work with the material of his own body, building right material into an
ordered form, and has therefore to learn discrimination in the choice of
matter, and to understand the laws of vibration and of construction. This
entails the mastering, in some measure, of the laws that govern the [178] Brahma and Vishnu aspects: it means a faculty of
vibrating with atomic accuracy, and the development of the quality of attractiveness,
which is the basis of the building, or Vishnu aspect.

He has to equip, also, his
mental body so that it may be an explainer and transmitter, and not a hindering
factor as now. He must likewise develop group activity, and learn to work in a
co-ordinated manner with other units. These are the main things that a man
must accomplish along the path of initiation, but when he has worked at them,
he will find the Way, it will be made clear to him, and he will then join the
ranks of the Knowers.

Another point to be
remembered is that this effort to make people co-operate intelligently with the
Hierarchy, and to train them to join the ranks of the Lodge, is, as earlier
pointed out, a special effort (inaugurated in Atlantean days and continued to
this time) made by the Hierarchy of the planet, and is very largely in the
nature of an experiment. The method whereby a man assumes conscious
place in the body of a Heavenly Man differs in different planetary Schemes; the
Heavenly Man, Who uses our planetary Scheme as His body of manifestation,
chooses to work in this particular way during this particular period for His
own specific purposes; it is part of the process of vitalising one of His
centres, and of linking up His heart centre with its connection in the head.
As other of His centres are vitalised, and come into full activity, other
methods of stimulating the cells in His body (the deva and human monads) may be
followed, but for the present the cosmic Rod of Initiation, which is applied to
a Heavenly Man, in much the same manner as the lesser rods are applied to man,
is being utilised in such a way that it produces that specific stimulation
which demonstrates in the activity of man on the Path of Probation and the Path
of Initiation.

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Therefore man must recognise
the cyclic nature of initiation, and the place of the process in time and
space. This is a special period of activity in the cycle of a Heavenly Man,
and it works out on our planet as a vast period of trial or initiatory testing;
it is, nevertheless, equally a period of vitalisation and of opportunity.

We must also endeavour to
realise the fact that initiation may be seen taking place on the three planes
in the three worlds, and the thought must ever be borne in mind of the relative
value and place of the unit, or cell, in the body of a Heavenly Man. The point
must here be emphasised that the major initiations, or the initiations of
manas, are those taken on the mental plane and in the causal body. They
mark the point in evolution where the unit recognizes in fact, and not only in
theory, his identity with the divine Manasaputra in Whose body he has place.
Initiations can be taken on the physical plane, on the astral, and on the lower
mental, but they are not considered major initiations, and are not a conscious,
co-ordinated, unified stimulation that involves the whole man.

A man, therefore, may take
initiation on each plane, but only those initiations which mark his
transference from a lower four into a higher three are considered so in
the real sense of the word, and only those in which a man transfers his
consciousness from the lower quarternary into the triad are major initiations.
We have, therefore, three grades of initiations:—

First, initiations in which a
man transfers his consciousness from the lower four subplanes of the physical,
astral, and mental planes respectively, into the higher three subplanes. When
this is done upon the mental plane a man is then known technically as a
disciple, an initiate, an adept. He uses then each of the three higher
subplanes of the mental plane as a point from [180] which
to work his way completely out of the three worlds of human manifestation into
the triad. Therefore it is apparent that what one might consider as lesser
initiations can be taken on the physical and astral planes, in the conscious
control of their three higher subplanes. These are true initiations, but do
not make a man what is technically understood as a Master of the Wisdom. He is
simply an adept of a lesser degree.

Secondly, initiations in
which a man transfers his consciousness from plane to plane, instead of from
subplane to subplane. Herein comes a point to be carefully recognised. A true
Master of the Wisdom has not only taken the lesser initiations referred to
above, but has also taken the five steps involved in the conscious control of
the five planes of human evolution. It remains for him then to take the two
final initiations which make him a Chohan of the sixth degree, and a Buddha,
before that control is extended to the remaining two planes of the solar
system. It is obvious, therefore, that it is correct to speak of the seven
initiations, yet it would be nevertheless equally correct to enumerate five,
ten, or twelve initiations. The matter is complicated for occult students,
owing to certain mysterious factors about which they can naturally know
nothing, and which must remain to them, as yet, utterly incomprehensible.
These factors are founded in the individuality of the Heavenly Man Himself, and
involve such mysteries as His particular karma, the aim He may have in view for
any particular cycle, and the turning of the attention of the cosmic ego
of a Heavenly Man to His reflection, the evolving Heavenly Man of a solar
system.

A further factor may also be
found in certain periods of stimulation, and of increased vitalisation, such as
a cosmic initiation produces. These outside effects naturally [181] produce results in the units or cells in the body of
the Heavenly Man, and lead often to events unforeseen and apparently
inexplicable.

Thirdly, initiations in which
a Heavenly Man may take either a minor or a major initiation, thereby involving
His entire nature. For instance, when individualisation took place during the
Lemurian, or the third root race, and the human family in this cycle definitely
came into manifestation, it signified a major initiation for our Heavenly Man.
The present stimulation in hierarchical effort is leading up to a lesser
initiation. Each great cycle sees a major initiation of a Heavenly Man taken
on one or other of the globes, and herein again complication lies, and much
food for thought.

To the three above points we
might also briefly add that of the coming in, or passing out, of any particular
ray. The little that can be said upon this point, which is one of the greatest
difficulty, might be summed up in the following three statements: First, that
initiations taken on the four minor rays rank not in equality with initiations
taken upon the major three. This is complicated somewhat by the fact that
within the planetary Scheme, during cyclic evolution, a minor ray may be
temporarily regarded as a major ray. For instance, at this particular time in
our planetary Scheme, the seventh Ray of Ceremonial Law or Order is regarded as
a major ray, being a ray of synthesis, and one on which the Mahachohan is
blending His work. Secondly, that the first three initiations are taken upon
the ray of the Ego, and link a man up with the great White Lodge; the last two
are taken upon the ray of the monad, and have a definite effect upon the path
for service that will be chosen later by the adept. This statement must be
linked up with that earlier made, which stated that the fifth initiation made a
man [182] a member of the Greater Lodge, or Brotherhood, on
Sirius, being literally the first of the Sirian initiations. The fourth
initiation is the synthesis of the Initiations of the Threshold in the Sirian
Lodge. Finally, according to the ray on which initiation is taken, so very
largely depends the subsequent path of service.

The Day of Opportunity.

The question might here be
asked wherein this information is of value to the student. In illustration of
this it would be wise if students would ponder the significance of the coming
in of the present Ray of Ceremonial Law or Magic. It is the ray that deals
with the building forces of nature, that concerns itself with the utilisation
of the form intelligently by the life aspect. It is largely the ray of
executive work, with the object of building, co-ordinating and producing
cohesion in the four lower kingdoms of nature. It is distinguished largely by
the energy which manifests itself in ritual, but this word ritual must not be
narrowed down to its present use in connection with Masonic, or religious
ritual. Its application is far wider than this, and includes the methods of
organisation which are demonstrated in all civilised communities, such as in
the world of commerce and of finance, and the great business organisations
everywhere to be seen. Above all, its interest lies for us in the fact that it
is the ray which brings opportunity to the occidental races, and through the
medium of this life force of executive organisation, of government by rule and
order, by rhythm and by ritual, will come the time wherein the occidental races
(with their active, concrete mind, and their vast business capacity) can take
initiation,—an initiation, we must remember, upon a ray which is temporarily
recognised as a major ray. A large number of the initiates and [183] those who have obtained adeptship in the last cycle,
have been orientals and those in Hindu bodies. This cycle has been dominated
by the sixth ray, which is just passing out, and the two preceding. In the
preservation of equilibrium the time now comes when a period of attainment by
occidentals will be seen, and this upon a ray suited to their type of mind. It
is interesting to note that the oriental type attains its objective through
meditation, with a modicum of executive organisation and ritual, and that the
occidental will achieve largely through the organisation which lower mind
produces, and a type of meditation of which intense business concentration
might be considered an illustration. The one-pointed application of the mind
by a European or American business man might be regarded as a type of
meditation. In the purification of motive lying back of this application will
come, for the occidental, his day of opportunity.

By availing themselves of the
present day of opportunity, and by conformity to the rules for treading the
Path, will come to many in the West the chance to take these further steps.
That opportunity will be found by the man who is ready in the place where he
is, and among the familiar circumstances of his daily life. It will be found
in attention to duty, in the surmounting of tests and trials, and in that inner
adherence to the voice of the God within, which is the mark of every applicant
for initiation. Initiation involves the very thing that is done from day to
day by any who are consciously endeavoring to train themselves:—the next point
to be reached, and the next bit of work to be accomplished is pointed out by
the Master (either the God within or a man's Master if he is consciously aware
of Him) and the reason is given. Then the Teacher stands aside and watches the
aspirant achieve. As He watches, He recognises points of crisis, where the
application of a test will do one of two [184] things,
focalise and disperse any remaining unconquered evil—if that term might here be
used—and demonstrate to the disciple both his weakness and his strength. In
the great initiations, the same procedure can be seen, and the ability of the
disciple to pass these greater tests and stages is dependent upon his ability
to meet and surmount the daily lesser ones. "He that is faithful in that
which is least is faithful also in much," is an occult statement of fact,
and should characterise the whole daily activity of the true aspirant; the
"much" is surmounted and passed, because it is regarded simply as an
intensification of the normal, and no initiate has ever passed the great test
of initiation who has not accustomed himself to pass lesser tests every day of
his life; tests then come to be regarded as normal, and are considered, when
encountered, as part of the usual fabric of his life. When this attitude of
mind is attained and held, there exists no surprise or possible defeat.